OS X :: Keyboard Function Keys Messed Up

Dec 14, 2009

all the normal keys on my mac keyboard worked fine on friday when at work and i come in today and they are all messed up. how do i get them back to there defaults? Example, f12 now goes to the desktop instead of actually increasing the volume and f11 is the dashboard instead of decreasing the volume, etc. I am not sure if an update or something got installed or what. I have tried going into keyboard under system preferences and restoring defaults but that didn't work. I also tried powering the keyboard off and on and still a no go. I am using the bluetooth keyboard and running snow leapord.

I bought a new MacBook Pro i5 yesterday to replace my MBP LED (2.2Ghz). The function keys on the new MBP kinda suck. I really want the one that does "Show Desktop". If you go to keyboard layout, it says that F11, F12, etc., are assigned, but seems it completely ignores them. What the F? Even if I could change the expose button to show desktop, I'd be very happy. I know you can use the 4 finger swipe, but that doesn't help while trying to drag something from the desktop into mail.

I have a PowerPC G5, OSX 10.4.11 with a wired numeric keyboard. I enter a lot of numbers. How can I assign one of the function keys on the right side of the keyboard, above the number pad, F16, F17, F18, or F19 to be a "TAB" key so I can move around fields when entering numeric data?

I recently received a bluetooth ultra-thin keyboard to use with my laptop while I have it hooked up to it's external monitor, the only trouble is that I can't seem to get the function keys to work properly. I've managed to go in and reset the dashboard control / brightness using the keyboard pane in the system settings, but I can't seem to set the volume / media control buttons. Any ideas how to get my keyboard working properly? If it matters at all, I'm running this on a 2.4 unibody MBP.

Download those, restart your computer and WHAM you'll have a bluetooth ultra thin keyboard with functions buttons that actually work. THE ISSUE: For some reason Apple computers recognize the new Aluminum keyboard as the old white keyboard. I discovered this by turning on keyboard viewer and realizing that the keyboard represented on screen had a numpad while mine did not. Supposedly Snow Leopard has an update already which recognizes this, however, we have all found that to be false. Install the mouse update and it'll all work out.

A few minutes ago I noticed that my MBA's keyboard was not lighting up as it's supposed to. A little experimenting and I found the solution (you may kick yourself, this is so simple):The F5 key decreases keyboard brightness.The F6 key increases keyboard brightness.The icons on these two keys are the clue.

Installed a new bluetooth keyboard today. Now my volume controls and other features on the F1 - F12 Keys do not work.Went into Keyboard Preferences and selected and deselected the [ ] Use All F1, F2, F3 keys as standard function keys. Regardless of the setting, the volume controls do not work. Even when holding down the [Fn] Key. I can adjust volume with the mouse ( new Magic Mouse ) using the control on the menu bar.

Following on from my recent post regarding the new apple wired keyboard after very helpful feedback from people who responded to my post I decided to take the leap and purchase it! Good news is that I am really happy with it and am glad that I got it! Much nicer then old apple keyboard that I was using.

I also downloaded spark v. 2.1.1 which has enabled me to change the functions of Fkeys to enable to play, pause, etc... in itunes in accordance with the keyboard layout. However, there are two functions that I am having difficulty assigning which are the F1 and F2 keys which allow the decrease and increase of screen brightness. So that I can control my screen brightness using these keys.

I want to be able to access the function keys for word processing commands. I want to use one key command, not two. I am presently using a Macally keyboard that is several years old. (I like the feel for typing.) System preferences allow for one key commands, but do not work with this keyboard. Would a newer keyboard work? E.g., the Matias OS X Keyboard? or the Macally iKeyS?

firstly, i have recently got a new apple keyboard and the function keys on it have got messed up. it has the logos for things like pause, volume and brightness, but when i click them, they dont do what they say on the key. secondly, i have also recently got a magic mouse and you are meant to be able to swipe to scroll and thing like that, but that doesnt work either.

I managed to somehow screw up my function key mappings, and can't figure out how to get things back to "default".

I use the following function keys daily:F1/F2: brightnessF3: exposeF10: muteF11: vol downF12: vol up

I somehow hit a key combination that threw everything out of wack. All of my functions have now shifted all over the place (ie: expose is no longer F3, it's now F9). I went into system preferences, and was able to re-map expose...but that's it. I can't figure out how to map the audio functions (mute and volume) and brightness control back to their original mappings.

I tried clicking on "Restore Defaults" within the Keyboard Shortcuts window...but it didn't work. Also, I now have an ugly black box around the item I've selected on my desktop. For example, if I click on my hard drive on the desktop...it'll put a big black box around it. If I click (or move my arrow key) on the next item...the black box is then moved there...indicating it's selected. How do I get rid of this ugly box?

I feel kind of stupid for not being able to figure this out but I figured someone else has maybe had this issue and knows how to fix it. My BF was messing around on my computer yesterday and somehow the top set of keys on my Apple wireless keyboard got all messed up. None of them are doing what they are supposed to do. Volume, brightness, escape, eject, etc. Nothing works. When I press the F12 button I'm getting my dashboard instead the volume going up. I tried restoring everything to default but nothing seems to be working.

I'm using the thin aluminum USB external keyboard and suddenly my 8ik, diagonal of keys stopped working (now I'm using my laptop keyboard). Anyone know if this is typically a sign of a broken keyboard, or a user issue?

I'm switching from a PC to a Mac. I have a PC utility called "My Function Keys" that allows me to "program" the function keys to do a combination of keystrokes. For example, I can set up F9 to do a copy and F10 to do a paste, so I don't have to do the Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V, or I can set up F2 to type my address, etc. Is there a similar utility for the Mac? I did find some information at this link: [URL]. Which states: iBook: How Programmable Function Keys Work. This article describes the programmable function key operation for iBook and the PowerBook (FireWire) computers. The programmable function keys were created to help simplify common, everyday tasks performed on the computer.

You can use these keys to open a browser, an email application, or any other frequently used application or server by pressing a single key. To set up a programmable function key, open the Keyboard control panel. Or, if the keys have not been programmed yet, simply pressing one of them brings up a dialog box that leads you to the Keyboard control panel. Apple has preprogrammed F1 through F6 with such common control functions as screen brightness, speaker volume, and so on. F7 through F12 can be programmed for your personal choices. To help you identify what the function keys were programmed to do, Apple includes with iBook a variety of durable stickers with preselected icons. Once the keys are programmed, you can select the stickers that will best remind you of the assigned functions.

Note: The stickers should not be placed on the keycap itself, rather above them on the iBook case. To remove the sticker, use a fingernail or other non-abrasive tool to remove them and avoid scratching the plastics. The function keys F1 through F12 can be easily reset to have primary functionality. Simply open the Keyboard control panel and select Options. Then check the box that says Use F1 through F12 as Function keys. Note: Programmable function keys are not a feature of Mac OS X 10.0. So, it appears the iBook will do what I'm looking for, but not the iMac!

How would i go about remapping the volume function keys on my old white apple keyboard to match the sequence order of the macbook's volume keys?

what i mean is how can i remap the volume keys above the numpad so they are used in this order: mute, volume down, volume up like on the macbooks for F17, F18, F19 respectively instead of volume down, volume up, mute like on the old white apple keyboards for F17, F18, F19 respectively. if it is possible i would then just switch the volume keycaps around to match the mapping.

i found this article about modifying the com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist to change the expos� and dashboard keys link. it says near the bottom that it may be possible to remap the volume keys but the author did not know the values... damn so close! does anyone know the values for the volume keys or know of any other way to change them?

Does anyone know how to use the function keys while in Fusion? I'm using Autocad and need functionality of them while using it within Fusion, but they activate OS X functions. This, and enabling "pan" with the middle mouse button, rather than dashboard, seem to be the last two hurdles before I can fully use the Mac for my work.

I have a new 15.4 2.53. I have a question, by default. When you press the key 2nd in on the top right, which is also volume up and f12, when you press it on its own, is it supposed to control the volume or control the f12 assigned in expose for example. Mine was working normally it was controlling volume as I expect it. Now all my top fn keys control fn if you press them on their own.. to control volume I have to press fn?

I recently upgraded to Snow Leopard on my Macbook Pro (early 2008) and now my function keys are mixed up. My volume keys are now F3 and F4 for example.

I have already unchecked, �Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys� as standard function keys� in System Preferences and it didn�t fix the problem. Also, under the keyboard shortcuts tab I have clicked the �Restore Defaults� button. This also didn�t fix my problem.

I have a Mac os x with the Windows vista partition. I downloaded Realplayer to view some videos on both the windows and mac side. When I did the latter I realized that this was the problem; all my function keys stopped working, I cannot control volume, eject, brightness, anything. I have uninstalled Realplayer from the Windows partition and the problem persists. I have tried to look into the systems folder and drivers, but I really don't know what I am doing and I don't want to make it worse.

I just bought a new wireless keyboard to use with my iMac. My function keys at the top of the keyboard are not working and when I try and fix them in system preferences, I am unable to. There is no option to get the rewind, play/pause, fastforward, mute, volume down or volume up to work.